Adrian man faces up to 11 years prison for child porn

Friday

Nov 1, 2013 at 5:00 PM

By Daily Telegram staff

A 23-year-old Adrian man who admitted dropping a computer thumb drive loaded with child pornography in an Onsted park is facing a possible prison term of more than 11 years when he is sentenced in February.

Sean Paul Gossman remains in custody while awaiting sentencing after he pleaded guilty to two federal child pornography charges on Oct. 24 in United States District Court in Detroit. He is to be sentenced Feb. 25 by Judge Robert H. Cleland.

Pleas were entered last week as part of an agreement that calls for sentencing within federal guidelines of nine to 11 years and three months. A receipt of child pornography charge he pleaded guilty to requires a minimum sentence of five years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

At least five years of supervised release following his prison term is required for both convictions, according to the plea agreement posted Oct. 28 on the federal court’s website.

Gossman will be required to register as a sex offender with both federal and state governments for at least 20 years.

The case started last November when a family found a computer thumb drive in the Onsted village park. The thumb drive was turned over to Cambridge Township Police and was found to contain more than 1,000 images of child pornography and video images. Gossman was identified as a suspect by photographs of him on the thumb drive taken with a cellular telephone camera.

The investigation was turned over to an FBI agent working with the Southeast Michigan Crimes Against Children Task Force. A complaint filed in federal court by special agent Susan Lucas stated a search warrant was executed at Gossman’s Adrian home on April 5. Two laptop computers and several thumb drives and discs seized in the search yielded more images and videos of child pornography.

She stated Gossman confessed to downloading child pornography from the Internet.

Gossman was arrested after a grand jury indictment. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in May. A trial scheduled for Sept. 30 was canceled in August and a plea hearing was scheduled in its place.